Today I will be giving a short overview of
seven tips I have found helpful in my experiences building and polishing my IT
Resume over the past three years.
1.
Volunteer: If you want
to set yourself apart from most of the people in your hiring pool I’d highly
recommend volunteering. Volunteering is great because it is a win win for
everybody involved. Not only does it look great on your resume demonstrating
that you are well rounded and have depth beyond simply looking for a paycheck,
but volunteering also almost always helps your community at the same time.
Volunteering can be a great networking tool to meet likeminded individuals and
if you are lacking work experience on your resume some solid volunteer
experience can be the next best thing. When I decided to start volunteering I
created an account with volunteermatch.org, which is a great resource for
finding an opportunity that matches your interests. It was through
VolunteerMatch that I found my volunteer position as a social media editor for
MASA (Milwaukee Area Science Advocates).
2.
Honor Societies and Academic Achievements:
I strive to meet the qualifications for any academic achievement I can while at
M.A.T.C. and every time I earn a new academic award I always update my resume
right away to reflect it. This is something that can truly set you apart from
your peers. Every person in your program
is going to graduate with the same degree as you but if you can get honors that
will give you a competitive advantage when interviewing for the same position.
Beyond that I think it is important to celebrate any achievement and adding it
to your resume just feels good. Lastly if you can become a member of an honor
society this is a huge help with networking and offers benefits including
scholarships and letters of recommendation. I am personally proud to have made
the dean’s list, president’s list, and am a member of both the Phi Theta Kappa
and National Technical Honor societies.
3.
Web Presence: If you
want a career in IT you should be constantly grooming your web presence to
reflect your investment in and passion for technology. I have been building my
“cred” on several social media platforms for a few years now. Running engaging
and thoughtful accounts will allow you to network with people that are where
you want to be. I have learned so much not only about tech but also about
professionalism and networking from following people whose careers inspire me.
I absolutely link my Linkedin and Twitter on my resume I want recruiters to
look at my accounts so they can see how truly dedicated I am to this industry.
4.
Skills: Skills are a very
important part of my resume. This is the section where you can really
communicate your value to a potential employer. It’s one thing to be an
incredibly skilled worker but if you cannot correctly articulate that on your
resume you will have a hard time finding work. I was struggling on how to
exactly word certain skills and was unsure of which exact aspects of past
positions were worth noting so I turned to the internet. I would look up job
postings for positions I want and read the skills desired, any that match my
own would instantly be added to my resume. Then I would surf Linkedin and look
at people with similar work experience and see what that have listed and if any
of that matched mine I would add to my resume.
5.
Recruiters: I have
chosen to work with a recruiter from TEKsystems to help me get placed sooner in
my field. I would highly recommend trying out a recruiter to anyone trying to
break into the tech industry. One of the many benefits is they will edit your
resume for you. My recruiter had me send in my various resumes and she combined
and polished them all into one. It is nice to have a professional give you
feedback on your resume before you start giving it out to potential employers.
6.
Networking Events:
Networking events are an awesome way to get your name and face out there. Not
only does attending such events help cement your reputation as a dedicated
professional it also allows you to meet other people in the industry that could
be key in landing a desired position. I would recommend Brew City HDI’s monthly
events as well as The Commons MKE events. I recently attended a hack-a-thon at
The Commons and it was one of the coolest experiences I’ve had.
7.
Multi-platform Resume Publishing:
My final tip on resume building is about resume distribution. You’ve worked so
hard on your resume that you want as many people as possible to see it. Don’t keep all your eggs in one basket and
don’t only upload your resume to one website. Have my resume uploaded to
several sources including; Monster, Indeed, Linkedin and WorkMarket.
